Dark Temptations

by Eric Alan Williams

  "Holy shit. And now, Xairin." Ethan said.

  Sara nodded. "Alice seems to have a theory that half breeds and lesser bred offspring being re-exposed to the Aeon Strains in their original forms are types of adaptation that would have naturally occurred over time had the original immortals not launched an extermination campaign against the monsters that made us all."

  She looked around the table. "We are currently testing this theory out on a mongrel. If he converts to being a full werewolf immune to silver, then we will know for sure."

  Peggy smirked. "Why go with mutts and mongrels when we could have just used another dhampling or dhampir?"

  Sara looked at her. "Because we need to know if other species of Immortium can become immune to silver. If they can, then it gives us an upper hand against the Conclave, and either way confirms how the immunity began in the first place."

  "When Alice analyzed my blood, she found something else too," Sara said.

  Peggy, Justin, who had been quiet, and Ethan all looked at her. Ethan asking. "What?"

  "Well, not to get all sciencey on you, but, every Immortal on the planet has 28 base pairs of chromosomes. I, Cecilia, and Vaughn have 30. Alice believes that most lesser blooded Aeonians and Immortium retain some of these pairs. When she analyzed blood from two halfbreeds, a stray from a werelion, and a dhampir, she found 26 pairs in both. One first-generation Dhampling had 25 and a tenth generation dhampling we managed to track down still retained 24. The guy thought he was a psychic or a witch." She rolled her eyes. "Alice believes that the Aeon Strain in one of its pure forms when it encounters a halfbreed or a lesser generation, it not only reabsorbs it and modifies it, but creates and adds that new chromosome creating a new variation of that specific strain when making a new Original pureblood. Now, with Xairin, here is where it gets interesting, he has 32 base pairs. Which likely means Cecilia originally had a full 28 pairs, unlike your average Dhampir before her bat bite. Doctor Grimm feels that most of her vampiric genes were dormant."

  Cecilia butted in, "I never manifested psychic abilities."

  Sara nodded, "exactly. Now with Xairin, we know that his sensitive gene plays into his 32 pairs, and it is the likely reason, despite having more vampiric genes than the average dhampling, that his vampiric side never emerged." She looked at them all. "Sensitive genes are dominant and probably suppressed it but based on our genealogy and him being bitten by that bat, Xairin is now either more vampire, or more alien, or both, compared to any of us."

  Ethan nodded. "That explains why his powers are manifesting faster than usual."

  Sara nodded. "There is no Immortal on the planet quite like him, he is essentially the first of his breed."

  "So, his powers could be limitless?" Asked Peggy.

  Sara nodded. "All the more reason to keep a closer eye on my grandson. We know that chromosome pair 31 in his DNA is a vampiric and extraterrestrial enhanced version of his sensitive genes. But that isn't the part that has us rather curious. The Aeon Strain itself has amino acids and proteins that can't be recreated by our current science. When it comes to chromosome pair 32, Arcaidus, and Doctor Grimm, neither one can break down 32 in any way. The very complexity of it, according to them, have them more baffled than the Aeon Strain itself. It's almost as if, the Aeon Strain had been waiting for someone like Xairin to become infected. The Aeon Strain's cells are like supercomputers at the biological level. The Aeon Strain created this new pair on its own. Pair 32, contains encoding that frankly has our A.I. and our lead researcher stumped."

  Ethan looked at Sara. "What about the silver immunity being passed on by the bite?"

  Sara looked at him deeply. "Vaughn and Cecilia both have bitten three humans, and so far, all six seem to be immune."

  "The legend is true, then?" Justin asked.

  Sara nodded. "It wasn't Lilith's children, but her grandchildren that can pass it by bite. Also, it appears that the silver immunity is not something that can be duplicated in someone that lacks it. Gene therapy, even with Arcaidus helping, he and Doctor Grimm, both agree it is something that has to evolve naturally based on the complexity of the DNA in all Immortal cells."

  Chapter 6.2

  "Naturally?" Justin asked.

  Sara nodded. "Alice is the best geneticist we have in The Society, so I am told. Between her and our A.I., they both feel that this would have evolved over time as halfbreeds and lesser bloods became infected by the source strains. The Aeon Strain is all about adapting to a planet's environment by infecting a host and evolving it so that it can adapt. Using those that are half and half, is part of that adaptation."

  Justin chimed back in. "Until the original immortals killed off the first generations of monsters created by the Aeon Strain's first arrival."

  She nodded. "Exactly."

  Sara looked at Ethan. "We know that chromosome pair 29, carries the full immunity to silver. So far, Arcadius has stated that there is no doubt that the Aeon Strain was genetically engineered and engineered in such a way that a genetically superior Alpha is always destined to emerge. For example, conversion cells, all conversion cells, are basically set to what I'm jokingly calling factor settings. They all have 28 pairs of chromosomes. Now the exception… " She pointed at her children. "Cecilia and Vaughn, while they have 30 pairs in their DNA, their assimilation cells only carry 29, assuring that they are superior to the ones they create. And like I said, pair 29, carries the full immunity in its dominant form, to silver."

  Ethan nodded. "Xairin has yet to develop into a Beta so we can test his."

  Sara looked at him and leaned forward. "Oh, I have no doubt the vampires he will one day make will likely be far superior to any of us. Lord knows what he will be capable of if he ever evolves into a Grand Alpha."

  "Does the council know?" Peggy asked.

  Sara nodded. "They know some, they know that Cecilia and Vaughn's bite children are all immune, I haven't given them a full disclosure, as I said earlier, on everything else. I'm still learning who to trust and who I need to vet out, and by vet out, I do mean, behead." She rolled her eyes. "Or rip apart, I haven't worked it out that far yet."

  "More council traitors?" Justin inquired.

  Sara shrugged. "No, I have looked into their minds and the newly appointed ones, but there are several strong, ambitious members who have not strayed to the other side, but do have some thoughts of how they could run things better. Eventually, I am sure I am going to have to pull a Lilith and really show them what I am truly capable of."

  The scent of something foul ripped its way into their nostrils. The smell of skunk spray was overpowering for those who already had enhanced senses. Everyone sitting at the table began to react. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Justin asked.

  "DUDE?!" Vaughn yelled. "Did someone run over a skunk?"

  Cecilia scoffed, "We are indoors goofball."

  The scent had the looking at the side door on the other end of the pool. Standing there naked, was Xairin, searching for a clean towel to wrap himself in. In the meantime, everyone in the pool, everyone lounging around it, and everyone sitting at Ethan's table could see more of Xairin than they wanted, well maybe not so much Ethan, but definitely his grandmother, mother, and uncle. Xairin's body even got the attention of the man cleaning the pool, Hansil Yemin. Hansil usually did the gardening, but today, he was on pool maintenance. The lustful Arabic Beta couldn't help but glare at Xairin's perfect body. He stopped skimming the pool to stare.

  He found one from a stack of white towels on a four-layered white shelf on the edge of the pool. Once, he had himself wrapped. He started walking. As he did, he realized he had caused a spectacle, and then it hit him. His family, Ethan, Peggy, and Justin had all just seen him unclothed. Xairin just tossed a glare. "I was hot, sorry."

  Ethan couldn't help but be a little sarcastic. "Xairin, this is the second time I have seen you without any clothing. I guess I do need to find you your own room; clearly, Griffin is a bad influence." He smirked. "And why do you smell like skunk? Is one of the p
eople on your hit list a wereskunk or something?"

  Xairin rolled his eyes, put his left hand on his hip, and glared. "Wereskunks is a thing?"

  Cecilia was shocked and speechless, while Sara was looking at him with that deer in the headlight look. Vaughn cocked his eyebrows and frowned. Of the three, he spoke up. "Dude, did you eat one?"

  Xairin shrugged. "I went for a run in the woods, okay? I wasn't paying attention and sat down beside a log. I didn't bother to check to see if the log was occupied, alright?"

  "Now if you will excuse me? I need to get this funk off of me before everyone else in the house thinks I wrestled with a wereskunk or something."

  Vaughn blurted. "That would have been a much cooler story than sitting beside a log and getting sprayed dude."

  Xairin smirked as he walked off, making sure the towel stayed on.

  "Well, that wasn't at all embarrassing?" Xairin said to himself, sarcastically.

  "If something embarrassing is going to happen, I guess it might as well be me!" He thought loudly.

  Back at the table, Cecilia looked over at Ethan. She knew he was gay, and after the comment he just made, now she wanted to know. "Why have you seen my son naked before?"

  Ethan felt like he wanted to sink into the chair. He knew exactly what Xairin was doing, masturbating in that bathroom. Ethan didn't want to cause further embarrassment. "I plead the fifth."

  Sara looked at him. "Please tell me you weren't trying to have sex with my grandson?"

  Ethan shook his head. "Xairin's a bottom, I'm a bottom, what are we going to do? Rub our butts together or share a two way and call it a day?"

  Ethan looked at his maker with a troubled glare. "Trust me, it is something better off left alone."

  Cecilia demanded. "Okay, given everything that has happened to him, I want to know!"

  "Believe me, you don't." He said.

  Sara rolled her eyes. She was going to force him, he could feel her influence coming. There was no turning back. Ethan's head began to twitch until he had no choice, he spoke up. "He was masturbating in the bathroom okay, one of the thralls thought he was an intruder since she hadn't seen him, and forced the door open along with some of the thralls that work daytime security. More than any of us wanted to see. Poor guy got hit by the door when they forced up open and pushed into the wall. He hit his head and was, fully exposed."

  Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Okay, didn't need to know that."

  Ethan shrugged. "I tried to tell you."

  _____

  Xairin was reaching for the doorknob. The new strength he had absorbed, he hadn't really adjusted to it yet. He twisted the doorknob to the point that the rod inside it snapped. "Shit!" he called out.

  The door opened slowly. Thankfully Griffin wasn't in. Xairin made a direct path to the shower and began scrubbing as hard as he could to get the smell off.

  It was all over him. Xairin lathered, and lathered, he washed over and over, rinsing and repeating. The man stood there in the six jets hitting him, for two hours until he ran out of the green body wash that he had, and even half of what Griffin used until he finally managed to rinse the smell off.

  Xairin stood there for a few more minutes as he felt inside himself, reaching deep until he felt a surge. He was connecting to his blood.

  His eyes lit up with light. A split second later, he was surrounded by green crystalline structures. He was looking through Yamug's eyes again. He watched as other Nos moved around the lab, donating blood as a crystalline tentacle came down from the ceiling and attached to their necks. Xairin watched closer through the Alien scientist's eyes as he used his mind to manipulate a holographic image forming in the air above a green sphere. Xairin call cells, circular cells, blue in color, covered with spikes, being fused with what looked like cells resembling squid. Yamug was using the cells from the creature he had collected blood from, the Cthulhu creature. He was making something that could resist being converted by them by using their own DNA to create a more complex organism.

  Their entire technology was made through psychic manipulation. The very crystals around them, created by thought, fused by thought and arranged the way the Nos wanted it to be. Their very understanding of particle physics created a psychic form of particle fusion. Even their understanding of biology, their advanced mental abilities allowed them to use the same power in genetics. All of the Nos's technology was controlled by their very minds.

  Yamug knew his race was dying off due to the Cthulhu. His only chance to save what was left of his species was to create something that couldn't be assimilated, something that could resist being converted. In doing so, anything infected, couldn't be assimilated by other strains of the perfect biological weapon, not a weapon that would destroy life, but give it the ability to fight the one thing that the Nos couldn't.

  Xairin looked around through Yamug's eyes and saw two other aliens enter the emerald crafted lab. These were different, they were not Nos, but allies.

  One was a soldier from the Tak. Learning through Yamug's memories, Xairin recognized this insectoid looking creature as a Tak. An alien species of insectoids that reminded Xairin of a humanoid praying mantis with a black exoskeleton and a barbed serpent-like tail that had a scorpion-like barb at the end. The creatures had hands like a human, but a curved blade that could extend at will. They had come for a sample of Yamug's work.

  The other alien, a Golgen, looked like a slug infused with a humanoid upper torso. It lacked legs and moved quickly. It had a face like a snail, with big eyes on the ends of the tentacles on the creature's head. Both spoke. Xairin couldn't understand their language but could tell that Yamug knew exactly what they were saying. They, too, had been attacked by the Cthulhu. Xairin watched as Yamug handed both of them a red shard filled with the red liquid he was making.

  After they left, Xairin watched as Yamug went over to a window and looked at a tractor beam pulling in additional comets. He saw thousands of red shards propelling towards them. He could tell Yamug felt they were running out of time. He watched as Yamug turned from the window and went over and began donating some of his own blood. The link broke again. Xairin could tell that this donation, was when Yamug donated the cells that he infused with the Cthulhu to create the cells that caused Xairin's condition.

  Xairin felt annoyed seeing and feeling what Yamug was going through. Sure, it was insightful, but Xairin didn't have time to worry about alien threats right now. He wanted to hunt down and kill every single last bastard responsible for what happened to him and his friend Rory, and he had a hell of a lot of new powers brewing, tempting him to follow through.

  Xairin knew if he was going to pull this off, he needed more power just in case something got in his way, that or if one of his attackers were infected. Knowing that brutes and nimbles existed, Xairin now wanted to complete the triad of enhanced human genes by adding the third into what he was.

  His cells told him that the third could be absorbed, just like the bruticus gene. Xairin wasn't close to evolving into a Beta yet, so the next thing to make him stronger was finding a nimble to absorb. Until then, he would attempt reaching out to the other thralls he had made, hoping that one of them might offer it, and if not, he would hunt a nimble down. After all, if he didn't enthrall them, drinking their blood would give him that ability too.

  Xairin woke up to the sounds of a repairman fixing the door. He had his boxers on, dropped from the hanging bar, and looked at the man hunkered down, wearing a brown uniform.

  Looking over to his left, he saw Griffin hanging. His wings were covering him, but from the backside, he could clearly see the vampire's smooth ass. Xairin just rolled his eyes and put on a pink t-shirt, blue jeans, and flip flops. As soon as he was looking in the mirror, he grabbed his sun goggles and put them on. He grabbed his wallet and his cellphone this time and put them in his pocket. He was ready.

  He could tell it was still daytime. After a quiet chatter of his teeth, his biosonar revealed most of the house was sleeping except the thralls.
Even Sara, his mother, Vaughn, and Ethan and his bite siblings were all sleeping. Xairin could get out of the house.

  Xairin walked out of the room and made it to the front door, where he encountered no resistance in leaving.

  Once outside, Xairin made his way over to his hover jeep and took off. He needed some new clothes, and while he was out, the temptation to acquire more power was still on his mind.

  _____

  Trifecta Mall

  Xairin arrived in a parking garage to a mall. He got out, keeping his glasses on, and went up to the sliding glass doors. Once they opened, he looked to his left, then right. The mall was busy today, the specific mall he was at, Trifecta, was state of the art, carrying the most common shop outlets. Xairin had heard a few people in passing talking about a store called wing-gear, which catered to vampires. Specifically designing shirts, jackets, and coats, that wouldn't rip when their wings emerged. Xairin hoped this mall had one.